Born in 1877 in Kirkwood, Illinois, John Hayes was an exceptionally bright young fellow. He had been accepted for engineering studies at the University of Illinois but also played professional baseball in St. Louis, as a catcher in the days of no backstop and often no gloves. His plans and funds for college fell victim to the financial panic of 1893, also known for the collapse of the silver trade. Coincidentally, the same crash scuttled an earlier plan for canals in the Magic Valley.

Through his brother in law, Hayes secured a job as a chainman on a survey crew in the Cripple Creek mining district of Colorado—at the age of 16. Hayes learned rapidly, taking on increasingly difficult duties, and he joined in adventurous surveying across the American West.

Hayes worked on original U.S. Public Lands Surveys, including what is now part of Glacier National Park in Montana and the densely forested coastal regions of Oregon.

 

From xyht Magazine at: https://www.xyht.com/surveying/history-art-community/